How Teachers and Parents Can Facilitate and Model Inclusion: Inclusion and Preschool Part 3

• Are the children engaged, or quiet and still?
• Are staff involved with children at eye level?
• Are rooms bright and cheerful without being overwhelming?
• Do adults speak positively about all children?
• Are all children receiving individual attention?
• Do adults call children by name?
• Are there sufficient personnel to respond in the event of an emergency?
• Is the “time-out” tactic overused?
• Are caregivers trained in early childhood special education?
• Are teaching staff available to attend school district meetings (such as IEP meetings)? Even if the child is going to a local or private school, the teacher should contribute to the IEP, as they see the child every day.
• Do classroom staff receive positive support?
• Do you see and hear a variety of developmental activities taking place?
• Do the children have opportunities to control events and objects in their environment?
• Are activities based on a child’s level of functioning?
• Are learning materials accessible to children with disabilities?
• Will staff help you develop goals for your child and plans to achieve them?
• Do classroom personnel provide parents with regular schedules of activities and events?
• Do teachers and caregivers describe their communication practices as “open”?
• Do parents actively participate with their child or children?

• Every child should be able to access their classroom’s physical space, materials, and equipment. Children who use walkers, wheelchairs, braces, and AAC equipment need to be able to move fluidly around the classroom.
• Scaffolding strategies can help children access and use materials in meaningful ways: this starts with adults giving them access and gradually fading out support over time as the child becomes able to proficiently use the materials themselves.
• Teachers and assistants should set up classroom areas and materials in a way that’s accessible to all children, but organize the physical space, equipment, and materials to encourage children’s independence and social skills.

Inclusive space in practice: A preschool teacher saw Tara, a 4-year-old child with cerebral palsy, use her walker to move from one corner of the room to the art area during free playtime. The teacher intentionally promoted Tara’s peers to clear the area by removing some toys so Tara could independently gain access to the space.

• Interaction in the classroom should not be dominated by adults; while adults in class play a critical role, such as planning and implementing daily social play and learning activities, there should be a good balance between adult involvement and spontaneous social interactions.
• Facilitate problem-solving between children; we don’t necessarily want to fix everything for them, but help them resolve issues.
• Peer teaching is in some ways more powerful than adult teaching. Make sure that peers have enough information to be role models.

Peer interaction in practice: Peter is a 3-year-old boy who is nonverbal and has a developmental delay. During circle time, the teacher invited another student, Andrew, to model for Peter the movements of a song he likes to perform with his peers. Watching Andrew use his hands to form the movements of the song was an effective way to help Peter imitate, learn, and perform the song’s movements independently.

• In free play, adults model enjoyment and engagement with their tone and quality of voice, and with enthusiasm that’s different from academic-based language.
• Children have many opportunities to choose activities, playmates, and play topics during free-choice activities. Making choices is an important communication skill. Nonverbal children can also make choices by looking or pointing.
• Observe children’s engagement while playing and consistently support their play using individualized strategies such as verbal/nonverbal prompting, modeling, commenting/asking questions, and enlisting other peers.

Free choice in practice: The teacher joined Marta, a 4-year-old girl who was recently diagnosed with autism, during free-choice time. She used a visual activity organizer in the role-play area to help Marta act out the steps involved in cooking a meal for her friends.

• Set clear rules and behavioral expectations that are consistently communicated to children to encourage social behavior and prevent conflict. We must use both visual and auditory communication. For example, we could show pictures of what we expect children to do and pictures of what we don’t want them to do covered with a big red X.
• When children have difficulty resolving differences on their own, adults can help by listening to everyone’s perspectives and acknowledging their views and feelings.
• Try to focus on helping children find more positive ways to negotiate their differences. Individualized strategies can help children generate solutions.

Conflict resolution in practice: The teacher observed two children on the playground fighting over a new toy. She invited them to consider how they could both enjoy the toy. One of the two children has difficulty with expressive language, so the teacher invited them both to look at some visuals that depicted possible alternative solutions. The children decided to take turns with the new toy by using an alarm clock that indicated when to pass the toy to the other child.

• Work together with other adults in the classroom to create a community where all children feel that they belong, regardless of their individual differences.
• Help develop a sense of belonging by planning activities and creating opportunities to help children understand and accept individual differences. For example, some kids may not be able to walk independently to the front of the classroom, but with the use of mobility equipment, they can participate in the activity.
• Opportunities exist for all children to assume equal roles and responsibilities in the classroom.
• Intervene to prevent bullying or persistent teasing among children in the classroom. We need to teach children to respect one another.
• Use positive and inclusive strategies for responding to children’s individual differences.

Membership in practice: When a child asked the teacher why another child was using a different type of spoon during snack time, the teacher responded that children can use different spoons as they grow and learn to eat different foods. She showed all the children the many sizes of spoons she had available for their use.

• Seek many opportunities during the day to engage in social interactions with children in the classroom that are positive, reciprocal, and sustained. Show enjoyment when interacting with children.
• Be responsive to children’s interests as well as their emotional needs. Get to know the children and what is important to them. For example, if a student’s mother just had a baby, use a baby doll to help them make a connection to their new sibling.
• Use visual supports and additional classroom resources for supporting children’s emotional needs and development.

Relationships in practice: When Charlie seemed reluctant to play outside because of the thunder he’d heard earlier, the teacher read a picture book with him about thunderstorms. When they finished reading the book, she modeled for Charlie all the things he could do if he felt uncomfortable while being outside on the playground. The shared reading activity and conversation helped Charlie feel better, and he was able to join his peers on the playground.

• Be responsive to children’s communication styles, whether it’s gesturing, pointing, making a noise, grimacing, or smiling in reaction to what’s going on.
• Actively facilitate social communication with children using a variety of scaffolding strategies, including visual supports, books, classroom resources, and alternative means of communication — for example, using pictures of available toys to show their classmates what toy they want. Alternative means of communication enable children to communicate and participate in classroom activities with their peers.

Communication in practice: The teacher showed Marta, the helper of the day, how to use picture symbols of available snacks to help Andre, who has difficulty communicating, choose his snack. As Marta went around the table verbally asking each child to make a choice between two snacks, she used two picture cards to help Andre make his choice.

• Ensure that children have opportunities to participate with their peers in planned whole-group and small-group activities.
• Plan and monitor embedded strategies and adaptations to support children’s needs and adjust activities as needed to encourage the participation of all children in the group.

Adaptation in practice: During a small-group art activity in which children used brushes to paint leaves they had collected outdoors, the teacher provided hand-over-hand assistance for Louisa, a child with fine-motor coordination difficulty, to fingerpaint her leaves. The second part of the activity involved cutting paper to form different shapes, and Louisa worked on one of her individualized goals that involved sorting different shapes alongside her peers.

• Activity transition may be difficult for some kids, especially if they are new to the school.
• Share responsibilities with other adults in the classroom and adjust roles as needed to prepare for daily activities and promote smooth transitions.
• Specific, individualized strategies (such as visual supports) are used for children who experience greater difficulty making the transition between activities. For example, use cards that depict circle time, recess, snack time, and playtime to show kids the schedule. If their highly preferred activity is on the schedule, they’ll be motivated to stay engaged. Show visual schedules with a timeframe so students understand when an activity is ending.

Transitions in practice: The teacher uses a soft musical tune to signal the end of transitions with the whole group. Sam, however, requires additional support to transition between activities. The teacher created a picture schedule to go through with Sam, who finds it very helpful to look at the visual symbols of upcoming activities before the end of each routine.

• Give children sensitive, positive feedback (both verbal and nonverbal) on their efforts, behaviors, and learning. Make sure the feedback is clear, and that children understand what is being reinforced.
• Use different types of feedback (such as corrective feedback and positive reinforcement) to support important goals such as positive behavior, learning, and engagement.
• Use feedback that focuses on children’s efforts and the process of doing things rather than solely on results. (For example, “I am so proud of you for trying so hard.”)

Feedback in practice: The teacher observed Juan, who has a developmental delay, working hard to solve a puzzle during free playtime. She asked him how he was trying to put the pieces together. When Juan explained his strategy, the teacher said, “I can see you’re working very hard and your strategy seems very helpful.” She then invited Juan to share his strategy with his peers during circle time.

• Implement daily procedures for encouraging bidirectional communication with families about children’s IEPs and progress. (Parents should share the feedback they receive about their child’s learning with their child at home.)
• Encourage staff to participate in meetings with families.
• Give families opportunities to share their priorities. What is important to the family may not be important to the school, so try to get on the same page. Educators should listen to what the family’s priorities are and adapt to them.
• Invite families to provide feedback on the quality of the school program.

Partnership in practice: Each child has a communication book where families and teachers can exchange daily messages, including private notes. The teacher also uses email daily to communicate with families. At the end of each day, classroom staff post messages about the day’s activities and children’s experiences on a white board outside the classroom to share with families. The program also provides support for staff to attend intervention planning meetings with service providers and families. Families are encouraged to participate regularly in progress meetings, where they receive reports of children’s progress that are parent friendly (using simple language) and sensitive to the cultural and linguistic diversity of families. The program also uses a system for identifying family priorities, concerns, and resources to help meet children’s needs.

• Use multiple assessment methods for monitoring children’s progress on individual goals. (You do not want to rely on a developmental checklist every six months or annually.)
• Use a combination of research-based formative assessment tools, observation notes, behavioral assessment checklists, and various other teacher-made assessment tools.
• Develop an individualized intervention plan for each child based on identified needs and specify how interventions and supports can be embedded into classroom activities. Special education and general education teachers should collaborate and share this information.
• Ensure that all classroom staff have access to assessments, intervention plans, and progress reports from specialized therapists, and can use this information for their own planning. Therapists should provide information to staff on an ongoing basis.
• Ensure that planning includes interventions that support children’s needs in their home and community.
• Use progress monitoring data to adjust interventions and instruction.

Progress monitoring in practice: The teacher was keeping a running record of Maya’s participation during story time to monitor her engagement following an embedded activity they had started implementing to support her understanding of story facts. In her notes, the teacher recorded that Maya found it helpful to use props to act out the story prior to and while retelling a story. She also noted that Maya might need more frequent prompting by an adult to help her connect the events of a story.